Pierre Renoir from the Front (Head of a Child / Tête d'enfant)
Medium
Lithograph printed in brown on China paper
Dimensions
sheet: 23 1/4 x 16 1/4 in. (59 x 41.3 cm) plate: 12 11/16 x 9 5/8 in. (32.3 x 24.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1922
Accession Number
22.82.1-37
Tags
Art Historical Context
In this tender 1893 lithograph, *Pierre Renoir from the Front (Head of a Child / Tête d'enfant)*, Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir captures the innocent gaze of a young child—likely his own son Pierre—in a close-up portrait that radiates warmth and immediacy. Created during Renoir's mature period, when he increasingly explored printmaking alongside his renowned oil paintings, the work exemplifies his signature soft modeling and luminous touch, even in monochrome. Printed in rich brown ink on delicate China paper by skilled lithographer André Marty, the piece measures a modest plate ...
About the Artist
Auguste Renoir|André Marty · 1841–1919
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) was a founding figure of Impressionism whose luminous depictions of Parisian leisure, sensuous female forms, and sun-dappled landscapes made him one of the most beloved painters in Western art history. Born in Limoges to a working-class family, Renoir began as a porcelain painter before pursuing fine arts, and this early craft experience gave him facility with the...